Flexible steel tape measures, or spring tape measures, are widely available in varying lengths. One form is provided by a power tape measure having a housing with a slot, a reel, a retraction spring configured to wind the reel, and a tape stored on the reel as a convolute coil. Skilled trades workers and homeowners frequently use such tape measures alike in order to measure distances. However, it is often difficult to accurately determine distance between two objects using an extended tape from a spring tape measure. By itself, an extended tape has a downturned end tab that is supported on the tape to make both inside and outside surface measurements. A scale extends down a concave surface of the extended tape, along which a user visually identifies a location corresponding with the scale in order to determine a measurement between the surface measurement and the location.
In one exemplary use, the tab is seated over a tabletop edge and the tape is extended to overlay an opposite edge of the table, while a user visually notes a scale reading on the tape coincident with the opposite edge of the table. However, it can prove to be difficult to take an accurate measurement for many situations. For example, a contractor faced with measuring inside window dimensions on a row of elevated windows, such as when sizing the windows for blinds, faces difficulty because it will be necessary to climb up a ladder while extending out a tape and visually ascertaining a reading on the tape scale. It can be challenging for a user to visually identify scale markings relative to a location being measured, especially when they are on a ladder. By the time the user has descended the ladder, the scale location can be lost or the reading forgotten. Accordingly, there exists a need for an improved apparatus for clearly demarcating distances that correlate with a scale on a spring tape measure.